Samuel Pepys died on May 26th, 1703, aged 70. Richard Cavendish describes how he rose from his humble origins to become secretary of the Admiralty, a member of parliament and the president of the Royal Society.

Alison Weir, best-selling historian of the medieval and sixteenth-century royal families, explains how she first encountered the power of history in a strange feeling of identification with Anne Boleyn.

Michelle Brown, curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library, discusses new interpretations of this treasure, and how this month visitors to the Library will be able to get closer to it than ever before.

Co-curator Sian Flynn introduces Elizabeth: the exhibition commemorating the 400th anniversary of the Queen’s death at the National Maritime Museum, sponsored by Morgan Stanley, from May 1st to September 14th, 2003.